Personality Profile: Brian Streetman

Taylor Pardue Staff Reporter

November 7, 2013

Brian Streetman came to Yadkin County for love.

Streetman has lived all over the country, from Florida to Pittsburgh, Charleston to Oklahoma. His father was a car salesman and deeply loyal to his boss, following him from dealership to dealership around the country.

But when Brian Streetman met his future wife Amanda on the campus of Wingate University, he knew where she was is where he had to be.

Streetman was a “math and science man” interested in a biology major. It was not until his freshman year of college he started feeling the pull toward ministry and decided to switch gears and pursue a degree in religious studies.

One day he was walking across campus and saw a friend of his walking with a girl. After an introduction, an hour-long conversation, and two days, Streetman said he knew Amanda was the woman he wanted to marry.

When it came time to graduate, it was either move to Oklahoma where his mother lived or go to Amanda’s home town and get married.

She happened to be from Yadkinville, and now he is, too.

Streetman worked for more than two and a half years at the Yadkin Family YMCA. He was referred to Courtney Baptist Church for the youth pastor position there and decided to apply.

After waiting a few months with no word back, he decided to forget about the job and continue looking. Two weeks later the church called him back and hired him part time.

That part-time job has now turned into a full-time associate pastor position. Streetman said the new title has enabled him to work even closer with the church’s youth by organizing the whole church.

A typical week sees Streetman building sermons and planning events for the church’s youth.

He attributes his ability to work well with young people to his frequent moves early in life. Streetman had to become social and outgoing to make friends across the different places he lived, and the variety of places and peoples he saw have given him a well-rounded personality.

Streetman said he was able to talk to anyone, something he said was very important for a youth pastor because young people rarely want to speak up.

In his free time, Streetman likes to play guitar, though he jokes that liking something does not make you good at it necessarily. He mainly spends his free time being around his wife — the best way to spend his free time, he said.